Minimum Training Requirements for Commercial Drivers

We are often asked what the minimum training that carriers must provide to drivers of commercial vehicles. In fact, this is an area that we often find carriers struggle with in an Assessment of Regulatory Compliance Audit or New Carrier Compliance Review. So, let’s talk about the requirements.

What Training is Required?

On the surface, a company might be inclined to believe that a driver is properly “qualified” because they have the appropriate class of licence.  The only thing obtaining a licence does is qualify you to operate that class of vehicle. Obtaining a licence does not necessarily mean the driver has had any training in the following key topics and it doesn’t cover any company specific policies or procedures. Every driver of a National Safety Code (NSC) vehicle in Alberta must be trained in their applicable sections of the below 4 key topics:

• Hours of Service (Federal or Provincial)

• Cargo Securement

• Vehicle Inspections (Pre-Trip’s)

• Weights and Dimensions

Because each individual operation is vastly different, the requirement to be trained in each topic will vary accordingly. For example, the Cargo Securement standard includes numerous topics that might not apply to all drivers (Dressed Lumber, Paper Rolls, Concrete Pipe, Intermodal Containers). If a carrier does not haul any of these types of commodities, then they are not required to train their drivers on that area.

Who is required to be trained?

All NSC drivers working for an Alberta carrier are required to have training in the 4 key topics mentioned above. There is no distinction in the regulation for the type of driver, and therefor this requirement still applies to owner/operators.  

When is the training required?

The carrier is responsible to ensure their drivers have received the appropriate training prior to operating any NSC vehicle.

Where can we get training?

Complying with this requirement can be accomplished by several methods;

1. Online

   • An affordable, easy to access, and self-paced method of training. Many carriers choose this method to deliver the required training to their drivers.

2. Classroom

   • Offers face to face interaction, with opportunities for questions ensuring specific scenarios that may apply to the carrier’s operations are addressed.

3. In House

   • An internally developed program used to deliver the required content to the drivers. This can include training manuals, power-point, exams, or any other method the carrier has determined is effective in training the driver. 

4. Accepting Pre-Existing

   • A carrier may accept any training certificates/record of training from a driver that may have received the training from a previous employer or an outside source. The carrier is responsible to ensure that the training provided was effective and meets the requirements of the carrier’s individual operations.

Record of Training

Regardless of the method above that a Carrier has selected to deliver the required training, each individual driver file must contain a Record of Training to verify it was delivered to the driver.  This can be accomplished by placing any tests, certificates, course attendance lists, certificate of completion, or a list of all training completed in each driver file.

Why are these the required courses?

 Let’s look at the applicable sections of the Alberta Regulation 314/2002 Commercial Vehicle Certificate and Insurance Regulation. 

---

Contents of safety program
40(1) The registered owner of every commercial vehicle who is required to operate the vehicle under the authority of a safety fitness certificate must establish, maintain and follow a written safety program that, in a manner that is clearly documented, addresses matters relating to the safe use and operation of commercial vehicles, including: 

e)    training for employees about safety laws and their application and an ongoing program for evaluating their driving skills; 

Driver records
41(1) The registered owner of every commercial vehicle who is required to operate the vehicle under the authority of a safety fitness certificate must maintain, for each of that owner’s drivers, a driver record file containing the following information:

h) a record of all training undertaken by a driver related to the operation of a commercial vehicle and compliance with safety laws; 

---

Now we know that we must simply train all drivers to be compliant with all applicable “safety laws”. Well – what laws are those? Again, we can turn to the Alberta Traffic Safety Act to provide some guidance by providing this definition:

---

“safety laws” means:

(i) this Act; 

(ii) the Dangerous Goods Transportation and Handling Act and regulations made under that Act; 

(iii) the laws of a jurisdiction other than Alberta respecting the same, similar or equivalent subjects as those regulated or controlled by the enactments referred to in subclauses (i) and (ii). 

---

What does all this mean? Basically, it’s the Carrier’s duty to ensure that all their drivers are properly trained on the Alberta Traffic Safety Act & Regulations and how they apply to their individual operation. The basics of the Act are covered by the driver obtaining and maintaining the appropriate class drivers licence for the type of vehicle they are operating. However, the other regulations are slightly more complicated. These include the applicable sections of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation (AR 121/2009), The Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation (AR 315/2002), and either The Drivers Hours of Service Regulation (AR317/2002) or Commercial Driver Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313).

How can CayCan Safety help?

We offer all the required courses both as a classroom and online solution. Currently we have greatly limited our classroom training during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please contact us if you are interested in scheduling/inquiring about a course.

Some of our online courses options are included below:

Course	Price
Cargo Securement	$34.95 - $74.95
Hours of Service (Alberta Provincial Carrier)	$99.95
Hours of Service (Federal Carriers)	$94.95
Daily Pre-Trip Inspections	$89.95
Weights & Dimensions	$49.95

As always, if you have any questions relating to commercial vehicle compliance please feel free to reach out to us.

---

Latest Blogs